New teachers in the public school system typically work on probationary status for their first few years, during which the district is free to either renew their contracts or let them go on a yearly basis. At the end of the probationary period, the teacher may be granted tenure by the district. Tenured teachers can only be fired under special circumstances. This can include missing work, but the burden of proof is on the school district.

Tenure Protections

Tenure is considered a type of contract. By granting tenure to a teacher, the school district has legally recognized the teacher's competence and fitness to teach. Therefore the district cannot legally fire a tenured teacher without substantial proof that the teacher is no longer fit to teach. Tenured teachers can be fired for incompetence, insubordination, immorality, moral turpitude or neglect of duty. Some states allow districts to fire tenured teachers for other reasons, such as supplying false information when applying for the job or advocating a revolution against the government.

Court Rulings

A tenured teacher cannot be fired without being given a chance to improve unless her actions were so egregious that no reasonable person could have considered them acceptable. The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned a school board's decision to fire a teacher who took a leave of absence while fighting felony drug charges. The board had no grounds to fire the teacher for charges of which he had not been convicted, and it could not fire him for missing school because the principal had never told him his leave of absence request had been denied. The court ruled that a reasonable person could have thought his leave of absence was allowed since it had not been specifically forbidden. However, in another case the courts upheld the board's decision to fire a tenured teacher for providing false explanations for missed work.

Barriers

Because firing a tenured teacher is a slow, difficult and expensive process for the school district, the district is unlikely to take such a step for a single incident or even several incidents of missed work. The teacher's pattern of missing work would need to be egregious before most districts would take steps to terminate that teacher. However, if the teacher misses work so frequently that the students are being negatively affected, the district may initiate procedures that could eventually lead to termination. For the district to succeed in firing a tenured teacher, it must first take a number of steps to ensure due process.

Due Process

Before a school district can terminate a tenured teacher, it must give the teacher adequate warning of the nature of the problem, as well as any support needed to improve performance. If the teacher's performance does not improve after the school has made a reasonable effort to help the teacher, then the district can proceed with the termination. The teacher must be given notice with sufficient details and time to prepare a defense. The final decision must be made by an objective person after a formal hearing in which the teacher is given the opportunity to question witnesses, present evidence and refute the allegations with the help of counsel.

About the Author

Scott Thompson has been writing professionally since 1990, beginning with the "Pequawket Valley News." He is the author of nine published books on topics such as history, martial arts, poetry and fantasy fiction. His work has also appeared in "Talebones" magazine and the "Strange Pleasures" anthology.

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